cut a rug... in the kitchen?

It's Monday!  What did I do all weekend you ask?!  Clean the garage.  fun.  Oh and we put final touches on our super hero costumes for tonight! 

After all the cleaning I decided to beautify another room in my home that has been neglected.

We rent a beautiful flat from my in-laws which was built in1937.  Certain aspects have charm (arched doorways, wood floors & high ceilings) but certain things bug me.

The kitchen is one of those 'bug me' rooms, it's sort of a...creamy/peach bland combo that really needs an overhaul.  The doors don't stay closed anymore and the linoleum floors are yucky.  

The scallop edges are a little cutesy but fun..  I'm learning to embrace it!   I changed the cabinet pulls a year ago to a bold maroon color.  Working with that I starting shopping for rugs.  Our kitchen is small but we still spend a lot of time together as a family.  I find that it's making the room more cozy.  Will I regret this?

I found this rug a few weeks ago on a super fab Safavieh sale on One King's Lane.  It's bright, its bold and dark enough to hide stains!  It was only $230 so I figured if it gets trashed I can replace it?!  Am I nuts?  

My Inspiration Kitchens

This kitchen reminded me of our kitchen; simple white cabinets, tile counter tops.  I love that they added the ethnic print rug and lightened the room up by removing the upper cabinet doors & painting the inside a dark color.  Ohh... I should do that! 

Again, a beautiful vintage rug, much brighter and bold than the rest of the kitchen.

The rug becomes the focal point.

Oh la la, Carrera marble island, dark wood floors- yes please! 

Clean and Simple, the yellow stool is a great color accent!

 So we'll give this a try and see how long it takes to get ruined with little people and their crumbs.  I'm working on some window treatments and will post pics as I progress.

neon is not just for super heros

stopping by dad's work to trick or treat.  our big dorky family!  ha, we had so  much fun though.

So Martha Stewart is the queen bee of craft-tastic projects, right?!  We all know that.  BUT, I also realize she has an incredible staff of the best designers and stylists to make everything look perfect.  I am no Martha but I am using this project as inspiration for our super hero costume this year.   See...

Some stretch pants, a little duct tape, and voila'! 
The DIY projects required seemed reasonable, so this past weekend, I crafted away and can't wait to see how they look on all 4 of us!  hehehe, it's going to be so cute!  I'll share pics next week.

With all my awesome super-hero costume research, I also found a ton of other cool super cool neon stuff.
Neon, it's everywhere! 

1. nails   2.  crafts  3. purse  4. shall  5. door  6. tabletop  7.  interior   8.  art

I'm on a kick now, highlighter yellow, bright pink.  I'd surely rock that shall, even in the winter.  Is that accepted in the fashion world?!   Of course it's vintage, but I want it!

Punkin's!

I LOVE THE FALL! 

There is something so refreshing about the Fall.   A new season, which always means a new start.  Oh, and the colors of the Fall- wow, always amazing!  The past few years (prior to kids) I haven't been too into holiday festivities.  But now, with children, there is a whole new excitement and joy to creating traditions with our family.

One of my favorite things is going to pick out a pumpkin!  We usually go to Half Moon Bay, which is the mecca of pumpkin farms, but this year we decided to go to our local city pumpkin 'farm.'  It was an amazingly warm day and it just felt right.  We headed over the a patch in the Sunset District to find just the right one.

The Hunter, do we get big ones or little ones?!

so many colors, shapes and sizes.

I'll take THIS one!!

The Gatherer.  He was very helpful with pushing our pumpkins in the wheel barrel!

Success, we even got to see them holding hands on the way out.

 

Now how to decorate these little pumpkins?

make me pretty- bedroom update

Master Bedroom nightstand update. (see below for resources)

Remember about a month ago where I posted about my nightstands and how my whole bedroom really needed some help.  Well, I've done some work on it.
It's not quite done yet as I still need a headboard and a better vase to hold flowers!
Also on the 'to do list' is to update my family photo image in the frames!  We just got our photos taken last weekend and need to have prints made!   Bear with me.

Fluffing the bed!  Kids were asleep so my sister and I were actually able to tackle some decent shots!  Oh, and I swear my house is tilted (or the moulding is) because it was IMPOSSIBLE to line those prints up straight!

Like my new Mongolian lamb pillow?!  I love it but my family thinks it feels too much like a puppy. 

I got the last Mercury Owl at West Elm.  It's cute but I'd rather find a unique ceramic owl. This is a nice place holder for now. Also, notice my new Decorate book- gotta give Holly props since I'm in the mix of her blog class right now.   I wonder what she'd think of my styling?!

Overall View

Ok so nightstand update:
Lamps:
Originally I had my heart set on fun bright yellow lamps.  I found these funky white lacquer lamps at Home Goods for $30/ each!  A steal right?!  The shade is a beautiful teal blue, it's growing on me.
Knobs:
I purchased the crystal knob at Anthro awhile back.  They don't have the exact one but it's closest to this.
Accessories:
Wood Sphere here.
Fur Frame, clearance at West Elm.
Grey acrylic throw- or a faux cashmere shall we say?
Black Ceramic bird- I made that in pottery class a few years back.
Jug w/ sticks- found the jug at a garage sale and used it with flowers at my wedding.
Yellow Ceramic vase on floor: my brother in law gave it to us.  Have no idea where it's from?!
Floor Basket- West Elm
Art- Hate to admit but got these prints at Ikea 5 years ago when I moved to SF.  Hung them with twine and there you go.  Not a huge fan but they are ok.  I want a new headboard!! 
Rug- faux fur throw rug- Ikea

Design is a process.  Sometimes the most fun is not 'pre-planning' and just finding the perfect piece that you work your room around!

Photo Credits: Portraits to the People

mod nursery- going green!

 Nursery board: preview!

Apple Green Option.

Highlights:

David Netto Crib

Fur Rug

LOVE print

Serena & Lily bedding

Weego Home dresser w/ custom green color.

Rosemary Hallagarten pillow

In August I began working on a kids room design for my client who is expecting baby #2 in December.  She is a super hip art history professor at CCA and hired me by selecting one of my affordable nursery e-decoration packages.  My package allowed her to keep design fees low and focus her budget on incredible product!

From our first phone call, I could tell she had great taste and I was stoked to work on a project that would be fresh and fun!
The original room was already pretty cute but she wanted a new look for the new baby.  That's where I came in.

The scope:
Due to space limitations she needed to have her 2 year old son share a room with the new baby (a girl!).  My client wasn't loving the current stokke sleepi crib and wanted to re-select.  The toddler is still happy in a crib so she wanted to keep him in one {for now) and get a matching one for the baby.  The crib we select must transition into a stylish toddler bed also.
The style of the room will remain neutral with subtle pops of color.  We wanted this room to coordinate with the rest of the home and grow as the children grow.  Nothing too cutesy!

STEP ONE:
New Floorplan:
  ~  We managed to fit two cribs, a small dresser and an Eames Rocker.

 STEP TWO:
  ~ I developed a couple inspiration boards with various color schemes.

Coral, Grey & Yellow- a little more feminine.

Highlights:
Spot on Square crib
Calypso Barth throw
Blu Dot dresser
Arc Lamp

My favorite, Yellow and Grey- of course!

Highlights:
Oeuf Crib, Classic
Anthropologie Rug
Oilo Baby Bedding
Etsy pillow
Custom drape

  ~ I researched modern cribs galore here.

  ~ We honed in on a fabric for the drapes.

ROMO- Quintus, color: Lagoon

The drape fabric changed the color direction and once we locked this down, everything really starting falling into place.  With our neutral greys, white, green, we added turquoise!

This is where we are now!             {I hope to see it all complete mid-November!}

Highlights:
Ouef Sparrow crib in walnut
White expedit Ikea dresser- saved some $$ here.
Jonathan Adler tray
Ceramic Lamp
Serena & Lily elephant bookends
& art from Etsy, as seen here.
Elephant mobile in grey
Squirrel hand-stitched pillow
Eames Rocker- DWR
Throw blanket- Coyuchi
Bumper- TBD!  Why is it Impossible to find a nice, textured organic WHITE bumper?!

if my blog were a room

As I mentioned on my previous post here,  Amber from Simple Dwellings, had this great idea to ask her guest bloggers to envision their blog as an actual space.
I've wondered about that too, does my blog represent a style that I'd actual live with in MY home?!  Sort of!   With my dreams of owning our own home (soonish) I always put away images that inspire me for our pretend future space.  ha!
  Living with rentals I never really feel committed to objects.  {may also be the 2 young children living here who trash everything anyway}.  But still, I love daydreaming about my 'dream home' and with that, could I go lucite + lavender with my living room?

Inspiration board. lavender, grey, yellow,  pops of navy.  a little vintage, a little organic and little hip

The Space.

• sofa- Jonathan Adler
• wall art- {bummer, hard to see} custom wall art with a story/quote.  See it better here.
• & art-  Etsy
• Pillow Ethnic print on linen
• Lamb fur pillow
• Yellow lamp
• Egg Chair
• Vintage Lucite Table (1920's)
• Rug- Madeline Weinrib Atelier- of course a fav!
• Lacquer side table

Thanks to Amber for having a fun idea and an inspiring me to take her idea into a literal interpretation.  What a fun design project that was!
Be sure to check her out over at Simple Dwellings, she is a talented interior designer and has some pretty sweet e-decorating packages!

in the night kitchen... with a 2 yr old

As some of you may have noticed, my sister is an amazing photographer.  I get rock star documentation of my kids lives through photos- lucky me!  We recently spent a typical cold San Francisco summer day together.  Being stuck inside with a drizzle outside, we thought it would be fun to try baking cookies with the kids!  The baby was sleeping so we only had one kid to contend with.  Aden is 2-1/2 now and luckily awoke from his nap with a big smile on his face.  We enticed him into the kitchen by telling him we were "the bakers who bake until morn."  He loves In The Night Kitchen by Sendak so he was pretty excited about that!
We pulled a chair up to the counter and got to work.
Why mess with the classic, our first go at cookies from scratch was good old Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip!
here are some pics and experts from a post she did with a little yumminess (which you must check out).  Two local SF moms who blog about fun with food.

getting started, prep, mixing, stirring, making, baking!

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Two large eggs
• One (12-ounce) package Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
2. COMBINE flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Aden was super helpful and very careful with his measurements.  He was a proud baker indeed.  The results- pure bliss.  Fresh chocolate chip cookies and milk.  Notice the sugar coma below.  Love this little guy!  And I think this was the highlight of my sister's weekend!

can you say "YUM!?"

My sister's photography company Portraits to the People is offering a $25 DISCOUNT on family photo sessions.  Contact her here and use the discount code LUCITE2011 to receive your $25 off family photo session.  She's got great design ideas for cards too- see more here.

oscar de la renta- RED

I've got red in my eyes! 
I have been consulting with the ever so talented Heidi Toll for a couple years now.  Actually, she was my first boss out of college! 
Hold on, back it up for a quick back story:  Immediately upon graduation from DI in '02 I was on the hunt for a young firm, who I felt, represented a style that I connected with.  Serendipitous, I came across Toll Hammerschimdt (where Heidi was the owner at the time) and upon contacting them, they were on the hunt for their first employee!  That, turned out to be Me!
Heidi has since started her own firm along side with starting a family.  She has some amazing projects on the boards and lucky for me one of them is in Northern California.
After years of me moving around, consulting with other designers, we've come back together to work on a fantastic project in Sonoma County. 
Setting the mood,

Almost but not quite...

The style is Hip Country {right up my alley} and we are just getting going with incredible inspiration images, product ideas and mood boards! 
The client had come across the Spring collection from Oscar de la Renta and could not get that vibrant Red out of her mind.   Right away, I looked up his new collection and immediately fell in love with this most amazing shade of red!  When you see it, you will love it.
The mood is set.  We are going to rock out this hip country home with tons of neutrals but lots of pops of Red!

This is what got me seeing Red.  What do you think?!

love what you do

Thankfully I follow the incredible blog of Lydia of Pudel design (Germany) and found this quote here.  The timing was perfect because I'm going through so much self reflection right now, it really spoke to me today.  I'm feeling very blessed to be able to do what I love and be a mom.  The two most amazing jobs in the world happening simultaneously.  
I'm sure she feels the same way, have you seen her interior design projects and Art?!

Lydia's art- Go look!

 

I love what I do.  I say that everyday.

she's got the look- Danielle Oakey

I have been a fan of Danielle's blog for quite awhile now.  She was one of my early favs as I started on my blog journey.  I was always so impressed with her innovative DIY projects and great design sense on a budget!
She's got style this one.  And the cutest little girls room to boot!  There are about a million and one awesome DIY projects in here, you've got to check them out!
Get to know her a little better:

I love her decision to paint the walls bold B & W with chalk board paint!  The headboard is super cute, with a girly fabric and a very doable DIY project.

10 of her fun favs:
1.   Fall Item:  BOOTS!  Every year I look forward to when the weather gets cold so I can bust out my boots.
2.   Gadget:  iPhone, can't live without.
3.   Fridge Staple: Prosciutto. I am obsessed.
4.   Meal:  Chicken Makhani.  I crave Indian food everyday.
5.   Fragrance:  Emporio Armani.  I have been wearing it for over 10 years and can not find anything better.
6.   Room in your house:  Emory's room. I love the colors, stripes, and whimsical touches.
7.   Color combo:  Coral and Gray
8.   Artwork:  Michelle Armas.  I recently discovered her work and I can't get enough.
9.   DIY project:  My desk.  I am obsessed with the rich blue color and glossy finish.
10.  Piece of furniture:  Eames Lounge chair.  I don't have one but it is on my list of 'must haves', one day...

Be sure to introduce yourself to Danielle, tell her I sent ya!

what's my blogger ware?! {lucite + lavender}

Today is the day... I am supposed to start my first blog class any minute- Blogging Your Way!  woo hoo!   My good bud {and fellow blogging newbie) Melinda and I decided to take this course together, it's hosted by decor8's own Holly Becker.  Being that we have recently started blogging and surprisingly taken quite a liking to it, why not freshen up our skillllzzzz and get into this on the right foot!  I hear there are about 700 hundred students taking the course from around the world!

To me it's just more than just a creative outlet for myself but a way to stay connected to my fellow designers, bloggers and clients.  It's gotten me started on a fun journey of self reflection trying to figure out what I represent, what I want my design business to look like and what type of designer am I?  Let's get crackin'!

So to cheers to my blog-o-rama course, I'm getting ready in my blogging outfit. 

Recently on Simple Dwellings, I saw that she did a fun series where she asked people "if my blog were a room."  {I'm working on that too} but here is my- "if my blog were an outfit" for now.

My Blog outfit- via my Polyvore.

What's your blogger ware?